The maiden edition of the Highlife Music Awards has been successfully been launched in Ghana.
The event was held at the plush Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra with a host of Highlife Legends and Producers in attendance. The ceremony was rather a short with brief speeches from the likes of legendary producer, Zapp Mallet who gave the history of the genre. There was also a speech from 1st Vice President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGHA), Bessa Simons as well as GHAMRO’s Rex Omar. They spoke passionately about the necessity in keeping tabs with the genre and encouraging the new talents interested in it to consult the oldies so as to not loose the way.
The main event will be held on June 22, 2019 at the National Theatre, Accra. Nominees and the process for voting will be released later as well. Speaking at the event, 1st Vice President of MUSIGHA, Bessa Simons said:
“Everyone knows Highlife is our identity. Right from primary school, every song your teachers taught you was Highlife. Once you have this embedded in you, anywhere you stand you can recognize Highlife music with ease. One thing that affected our music was the curfew that hit Ghana in the 80s. It made a lot of the singers leave the shores of the country to Nigeria which brought an end to an era.”
Uncle Bessa Simons however the efforts of the organizers of the event and urged not to make it just a Nine Day wonder but strive to make it stay for long. The awards was officially launched by MUSIGHA president, Bice Osei Kuffuor popularly known as ‘Obuor’ with support from Gyedu Blay Ambulley, Dada Bosco and others